Pain Makes Life Worth Living
by DarkHeartMistress
Summary: Kaoru's parents were killed when she was little.Her sister Misao kidnapped.Now,11 years later she's run into the people she hates most and found her little sister.1 problem,Battousai is a vampire,and Misao doesn't remember her.KxBK
1. Past Pains

Well, it has been a long time. Heh…looks at fans apprehensively. Hi… Anyways, I had this idea come to me. Sorry for not finishing the other fics. Life has been REALLY hectic for me. Anyways, hope you enjoy, DHM

Warning: Strong language is used. Don't go crying to your mommies if you didn't read this warning…duh.

Disclaimer: I wish, I wish, I wish I could say it was mine. But alas it is not.

**Chapter 1: Past Pains**

The darkness set in over the landscape as the sun made its final descent. The small house where the Kamiya family lived was lit by a fire and several candles. The atmosphere was warm and happy inside, while outside the cold darkness and beings moved in. The house was a tiny light in the darkness, the nearest town being a good four miles off. Inside Izayoi Kamiya placed a pot on the low table. The soup smelled and looked delicious as she called her husband and two daughters to the table.

"Mama, why can't I help papa in town?" Asked the seven year old Kaoru Kamiya. Her blue eyes looked pleadingly at her mother then her father.

"You know you are too little." Izayoi spoke, her soft brown eyes smiling at her oldest daughter. She looked to Misao who was sitting next to her older sister, watching the conversation with intelligent eyes.

"We want to go…!" Whined Misao as she finally spoke up. The four year old looked at her parents with a pout. Her attention soon drifted to the bowl which her mother placed infront of her.

"Eat your supper." Izayoi said, placing one infront of her husband and other daughter. She saw the resemblance between father and daughter. Kaoru was more like her father than anyone really realized. Although both girls loved to watch their father practice swordsmanship and afterwards would try to mimic his moves, it was Kaoru who stood out. She had mastered several of his moves. She could see him do something and would in turn practice until it was perfect. Misao on the other hand would grow bored eventually and move onto something more fun.

"It's not fair." Mumbled Kaoru as she pushed at her food with her chopsticks. She finally stabbed a piece of meat angrily and stuffed it into her mouth, glaring at them both with deep blue eyes.

"Soon girls, soon." Their father said as he began to eat his own dinner.

After dinner Izayoi put her two daughters to bed in the next room. Their tiny house had only three. A living room and two bedrooms. She smiled as she kissed her daughters good night and tucked the single, large blanket around them making sure they were warm.

"What's wrong dear?" Izayoi questioned her husband as she entered the living room again. He sat moodily by the fire, glancing now and then to the door and three windows. He seemed agitated and she had no idea why.

"They're coming. They'll be here tonight or tomorrow." He spoke as if in a trance, his expression worried.

"You can't mean…" Izayoi was interrupted.

"Yes. They're coming to kill me because I betrayed them. The girls are not safe here. He will kill them if they are found. As will you. At midnight we must wake the girls. You will take them to town. Just go and don't look back. They'll be here soon." His saddened reply filled the quiet room.

"I won't leave you." She spoke, tears filling her eyes.

"You must." He said, standing and going to his wife. He embraced her and let her cry against his shoulder. This would be their last night together. Then it would all be over, for good.

-1-1-1-1-1-1-

Blue eyes snapped open as the young woman sprang up in bed. Her body was soaked in perspiration as she glanced around the room. She hated having these dreams. They always reminded her of her past. The night her life changed for the better and the worse.

Taking a deep breath eighteen year old Kaoru Kamiya stood up from her mat. She changed into day clothes, a simple light blue kimono, and walked out of her bedroom. In the main living room she glanced around, her dream still bringing unease to her mind.

Sighing Kaoru walked outside and stretched. Last night had been tough but she had completed what she had set out to do. Having arrived home late she had gone straight to bed after washing, only to have a nightmare. Aqua eyes looked up at the storm clouds over head. For once the sky matched her mood. She was always angry, sad, and alone. She loved storms and the rain.

She yawned momentarily as she combed her fingers through her dark, black hair. She pushed it up into a ponytail and grabbed a ribbon from her kimono pocket, tying her hair up and out of her face.

She would have to hurry if she wanted to get some tofu before it started raining. Slipping her shoes on, she walked out of her house and onto the dirt road. She was only a mile from the town. It was easy for her. She was in excellent shape and didn't even consider this a workout.

Once she arrived in town she saw few people on the normally crowded streets. The weather for once was an advantage. She hated people. It wasn't that she despised the human race completely, just the insignificant fools who continually got in her way and annoyed her day after day.

Making her way to the tofu stand, she smiled at the young woman working there. Tsubame was a sweet girl, yet naïve. She was constantly living in a dream world. She bought the tofu and turned to leave. Her eye caught a flash of red hair which soon disappeared. Shaking her head she dismissed her panic.

Kaoru was lucky to have made it home before the rain. It had started to fall just as she stepped onto the front steps of her home. Smiling to herself she entered and put the tofu away. It was by now early afternoon and the rain had begun to fall outside. She suppressed a yawn as she went to her room. She would take a quick nap and then make dinner.

Laying down without removing her kimono she drifted off to sleep.

-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-

Rain soaked the woman and two children as they walked quickly through the rain. Misao clung to her mother as the Izayoi held her. Kaoru held her mothers hand looking around at their dark surroundings unhappily.

"Come Kaoru we must hurry." Izayoi said over the harsh pounding of rain. More than once the two walking slipped in the mud. Their clothes became dirty and wet. Kaoru shivered against the cold wind. Her parents had explained nothing as to why they were woken in the middle of the night without any explanation. She wanted to know why papa was still at home, looking worried and aggravated. He had looked at his daughters and wife sadly and kissed his children on the forehead. He had kissed Izayoi and then they had left.

Suddenly Izayoi stopped. She seemed to be trying to listen around the rain. She grabbed Kaoru by the arm and dragged her to the bushes on the side of the road. A few feet in she knelt down and told the girls to be quiet.

They were silent for a few moments and then were surprised to see a group of riders come galloping up the road. It was hard to see the group through the rain and darkness, but Kaoru had excellent eye sight.

Blue eyes locked onto a head of flaming hair. She watched the group ride past. They seemed in a hurry and did not notice that the three females were there. Kaoru felt her mother stiffen and looked into the kind brown eyes she had known all of her life.

"Kaoru, there's something important that I want you to do." Her mother's voice was soft over the harsh pound of rain.

"Mama?" Kaoru asked, concern clouding her eyes.

"I want you to take Misao to town. Go to see Tae at the Akebeko. She will see to it that you are taken care of." Izayoi said her eyes still trained on the path the three of them had just come from.

"What about you Mama? Where are you going?" Kaoru asked, fear for her mother seeping into her. What was going on? She didn't understand. What was happening to her family?

"I'm going to help your father. You must promise me to take care of Misao. She needs you more than ever. Take this." Brown eyes finally shifted to her daughter's. She placed Misao on the ground where the exhausted girl sat beneath a tree which was sheltering them from most of the rain. Izayoi took an envelope from her pocket and placed it inside Kaoru's jacket. It was thin material but it kept her dry for the most part.

"Mama please do not go." Kaoru cried as tears fell down her young face.

"Kaoru, I love you. You and Misao. Take care of eachother and remember that your father and I will always love you." Without a second thought Izayoi left their hiding spot and ran back up the path they had come. Kaoru quickly lost sight of her, her eyes being blinded by the tears that threatened to fall.

"Kaoru what's going on?" Asked the ever questioning Misao.

"We're going to town." Kaoru spoke, her eyes turning from the previous direction and looking down the road towards town. "Come Misao let's get going."

Misao took her sister's hand and the two trudged to town through the thick mud.

Almost a half hour later the two girl's arrived cold, wet, and miserable at the Akebeko. Tae answered the pounding on the door and let the girls in without a moment's hesitation. She had them remove their soaked clothes and wrapped them in warm, dry towels.

Tae asked the girls what had happened and Kaoru told the older woman as best as possible. The nineteen year old girl looked sadly at the shivering girls. She did not know what was going on but she would do what she could until she found out. She brought the girls sleeping clothes from her younger sister and took them to her room upstairs. Putting them to bed she looked out the window with a worried expression on her face.

---------------------------------------------------

Kaoru was relieved to wake up. This storm had brought on many bad memories of her past. She rubbed a calloused hand over her face, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Why were these thoughts and feelings coming back now after eleven years? She did not know, nor did she want to continue reliving them.

Scowling Kaoru sat up and moved to stand. She found her legs weak beneath her. Finally getting her strength back she walked to her kitchen. It was dark outside and now it was drizzling. Kaoru decided to make the simplest thing possible and settled on noodles.

As she sat there contemplating her dreams and eating her noodles her mind moved towards tonight. She had another job to do. Her blue eyes deepened and her mind thought about what would happen. She didn't do the dirty work of others or get paid. It was something she had set out to do after the deaths of her parents. She had been hunting down the ones who had killed them and anyone associated with them.

She closed her eyes, thinking back to that night. There had been a total of ten riders. She had killed three. Among those three were also their servants and anyone who might have known about it. That was a lot of people considering the fact that one man hadn't even been human. A shiver went down her spine at this thought. These creatures weren't human. A few were human but from the information she had gathered most in that group that had killed her parents, were not. What exactly they were she did not know.

She didn't fear the death that she consistently dealt out. She feared only one person. Battousai. He was the one she feared. He was one of the abnormal ones. His reflexes and chi were not human. She had seen him only three times in her entire life. The first time on that cold lonely road in the rain. The second the day her sister was taken. The third about four years ago when she first started her hunting. She would not stop until they were all dead. Or, if she herself was killed which would be very likely if she faced Battousai.

She sighed knowing it was time to get to work. She cleared the table and went back into her room. In the corner she unlocked a large chest. Upon opening it she looked at the katana. The gold inlay made it beautiful and extremely deadly. She had perfected her own style of fighting over the years and had become very dangerous.

She removed the black outfit. It fit her body extremely well and she had been able to lull many of her victims into a false sense of security. She smiled lightly as she undressed and slipped the black pants on. They hugged her waist nicely and became wider down her legs. The black top that went with it covered her arms. She had black gloves as well, but she never put those on until she was about to fight. She hated having blood on her hands.

She stretched out her tired muscles, and grabbed the mask sitting on the bottom. Slipping it over her head it covered the top portion of her face, the only thing visible being her eyes, nose, and mouth. Her sea blue eyes scanned the assortment of weapons, finally resting on a pair of small hand knives and two sai. She enjoyed having several types of weapons available to her. It allowed her to keep in shape with different weapons and learn new tricks and moves.

She put her soft padded shoes on. The material was soft and thin, making little noise on many surfaces. She placed four of the little throwing knives there, placing two in each of her shoes which ran all the way up to mid calf.

She stood from her sitting position and grabbed her katana, closing the trunk behind her. Time to go to work. Exiting her house she looked up at the sky. It was clear now, the rain having subsided and the clouds had drifted away. She looked sadly at the stars. They seemed so beautiful and pure. The opposite of her. Shaking her head she looked at the nearly deserted streets near town. She could see the moving figures with tortures although she was still a mile off. The man she was going after lived two miles past the limits of town. She walked towards the woods. Her mind had switched gears. She was no longer Kaoru Kamiya. She was Kaoru the assassin. Every sound she heard made her cautious.

After about two minutes of walking she came to an empty field. It was only a few acres, but it resided on her lands. Whistling she listened quietly. She heard the sound of hooves as a black mare raced from the trees on the opposite side. She slid to a stop as Kaoru raised a hand. She smiled at the mare she had bought two years ago. She refused to walk more than two miles after any prey. She walked to a nearby tree, the mare following calmly. She pulled on a knob and opened a hidden opening. Inside sat a bridle. It was all she needed. Her father had taught her to ride when she was only three, and they had never been rich enough to afford a saddle.

She slipped the bridle on the mare and grabbed a bit of mane. In a swift movement she was up and grabbing the reins. "Let's go Ayana." The mare leapt forward onto a nearby deer track and the two headed in the direction of Yamaguta Kochi's home.

-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-

Kaoru dismounted a few hundred yards outside Yamaguta's property. She let Ayana free graze knowing she would not wander far and would come instantly if Kaoru called. She hid in the bushes as two guards patrolled the perimeter.

"He's making this too easy." She whispered a glint in her eye as she silently slid her katana from its sheath. Without any noise she snuck up behind the two men as they talked about whores. Disgusted she slit both their throats in one swing. She didn't spare them another glance as she entered the grounds of Yamaguta Kochi.

Kaoru made it to his large three story house with no problems. She peeked in through a window. No guards. What was this man just plain stupid? She lifted the window hesitantly and was surprised when it opened. He didn't even lock his windows. Muttering to herself about boring targets she dropped quietly to the floor. She hated not having a challenge. This was ridiculously easy.

Kaoru made her way quietly down the hallway, katana ready in her hand. She let her chi extend through the house, identifying any threats. She felt Yamaguta's upstairs. She felt another, stronger one with him. Very strong. She remembered feeling something similar a while ago, but passed it off as a brief encounter. She immediately toned her chi down, not wanting to be noticed by anyone with a stronger chi. She had noticed several other chi below in the basement, they weren't as strong as the one upstairs but they were stronger than Yamaguta. Of course, the idiot had freaking body guards. That's why he didn't care about safety precautions.

"Jackass…" Kaoru muttered making her way into a large area, and saw the main staircase which led upstairs. Her senses sharpened as she approached and began to walk up. All of a sudden she heard a door opening upstairs and two male voices coming her way. Fuck!

She leapt from the stairs and around a corner. Desperately searching somewhere to hide so she could see who it was. She found herself a closet and ducked into as the men appeared at the top of the stairs. From her position she could see a portion of the stairs and room. Who she saw walk down the stairs made her sick to her stomach.

Battousai.

She was screwed, beyond screwed. If she panicked anymore he would be able to sense her. Fucking abnormal freaks. She watched the red headed man turn his direction to another hallway where voices were coming from. Four people entered and once again Kaoru felt sick to her stomach.

Misao.

No, she couldn't believe it. Her sister was alive, and with these creatures no less. She had thought her dead years ago. She knew it was her sister. She had their mothers' soft face and her own beautiful dark hair. How could this happen? Her sister had probably forgotten about her, having lived with these things for the past eleven years. Taking a few calming breaths she looked at the other three men. They were all tall, taller than her. Great, she felt like a midget.

"There's Sagara Sanosuke, that one is Aoshi, and the other is just a boy. I don't remember seeing him before or hearing anything." She whispered to herself as she watched. She had been too loud.

"There's someone here." Came a cold, icy voice from the direction of the Battousai. "Come out or I'll come find you." He said menacingly, his hand resting calmly on the hilt of his katana.

"Fuck, crap, shit. I'm screwed." Kaoru said, trying to keep her fear from her body and face. He could probably smell it on her. Without another moment she slipped from the closet and came to face the group. Her aqua eyes darkened more as she faced Battousai, the glare she sent him would have killed Yamaguta had he not been hiding behind Battousai now.

"Well, what do we have here? A little girl playing dress up? How cute. Now, if you don't mind tell me who you are and remove your mask. I won't ask twice." Came the cold voice.

Kaoru glanced from his deadly amber eyes towards where her sister and three other men were standing. Her shoulders slumped. She had to at least tell her name, if Misao didn't remember, then there was nothing else she could do.

"My name is Kamiya Kaoru. You killed my father and mother eleven years ago and took my sister Kamiya Misao as well." She spoke, her voice strong as she removed the black mask from her face she tossed it to the ground. If she survived the night she had another one at home.

Battousai laughed at her. His amber eyes showed no amusement though. Kaoru could hear the gasp come from Misao and she looked sadly at her younger sister. The one she had sworn to protect.

"So you're the one who's been killing off my business partners?" Battousai stated more than asked. "What, decide to get a little revenge? I'm afraid little girl you're not yet big enough to handle me." His cold smile revealed two elongated teeth.

"Fuck you, you bastard. I'm not afraid of you. I could take you in my sleep. You're just a freak with an over inflated ego." She snapped, and could see his face become more serious. He stopped smiling and walked towards her.

Kaoru raised her sword slightly, pointing it at him. His glare sent shivers down her spine. She was afraid, but she would never admit that. She hadn't dreamed of taking him on for at least another couple of years. Now she was in over her head and sinking quickly.

"Well, if you say so." He spoke.

Kaoru hadn't even seen him move, but in a moment she had thrust up her katana in a block as he swung down quickly at her. She leapt to the side, her eyes watching his movements, trying to predict the next one. She watched her with an impassive face as he jumped and swung at her again, using his superior speed to keep her off guard. She had barely dodged that attack when she was jabbing at her. She dropped to the ground in a split as she blocked his next thrust with her sword. She rolled out of the way as the next one slammed into the wood flooring, damaging it with a loud crack.

Kaoru leaped to her feet and faced him, her dark blue eyes boring straight back into Battousai's own.

She was good. He had to give her credit. He had never come up against such a unique fighter. He had never seen the moves she performed. Her eyes are what caught his attention. They were deep, dark and held a deep hatred in them. He was toying with her. She was not to his level yet, but she was giving him a good workout. He smirked as he cut her upper arm, a thin trail of blood seeping from it. Her anger seemed to intensify and he was taken aback at how quickly she was attacking him now.

Kaoru spat out curses beneath her breath as she swung and hacked at him angrily. If she was going to die, she would go down kicking, screaming and making it difficult for him. She hadn't been paying attention to where they had been going while fighting, and now realized she was about two feet from one of the walls. Crap.

"I hate you!" She screamed as she flipped to the side and got a few feet away from him. Her body slid into an attack stance. This was one of her most effective moves. She had never tried it on a living person, or creature in his case, but there was a first for everything.

Battousai stopped and watched the girl go into a fighting stance. He did not know the move she was planning, but sensed her ki rising. It seemed to take on a life of its own and smacked against his with feelings of disgust and anger before subsiding into an aura of calm. He watched as the girl's eyes glanced at Misao. He kept himself from smiling. She still cared for her sister, but her sister knew nothing of her. He saw sadness take over her eyes briefly but they flashed back to anger in a moment.

Their father had broken a deal and betrayed Battousai. He never accepted betrayal. He had the man killed. His wife had tried to stop him, but he had killed her too. He knew that he had two daughters and that they were now gone. He had found them in town, with the owner of a restaurant, the Akebeko. He had seen only one girl, Misao. He had told Aoshi to grab, yet not harm her while he searched for the other one. At that moment she had appeared before him, same bright blue eyes as the woman before him now, yet she was innocent and kind then. He had tried to go after her, but a group of hunters had arrived. They knew what he was and he did not want to stay around and deal with the impudent fools, so he had settled with Misao.

Kaoru reached a hand down into her boot and removed to of the throwing knives. Holding them between her fingers, she sprang from her crouch and flew at Battousai. She tossed both knives, following with her own sword.

Battousai knocked the knives away with his sword, but did not anticipate to see her flying at him. He was too slow to completely deflect her attack, and a slash cut away part of his shirt. A little bit of blood seeped from the scratch across his chest. His amber eyes moved to meet Kaoru's own, challenging her to try that again.

She smirked, and sheathed her sword. Her arms reached behind her and brought out the two sai from earlier. She twirled them around in her hands and then crouched into another fighting stance. Her smiled faded as the two engaged eachother again.

She was even better with the sai that with her katana he noted as she narrowly missed his neck. Without warning Kaoru ducked below his swing and rolled back out of the way. She came up with her other two knives and tossed them at him.

The blur of movement was what caught her attention. Misao was running to stop the knives. She could be killed. Without thinking, Kaoru dove forward, dropping her sai and taking out her katana as she reached out to alter the path of the knives away from her sister.

Battousai watched the split second decision as Misao jumped infront of him, and Kaoru threw herself forward to stop her attack. She managed to knock the knives from the air and they clattered to the floor. Kaoru fell on her side with a loud 'umpf', pain lacing through her right side.

"Shit…" she mumbled, as she struggled to sit up. Her gaze turned to Misao who was approaching her with a sword in hand. Kaoru leapt to her feet, shock apparent on her face as she faced her little sister.

"What are you doing Misao?" Kaoru questioned. She never would have expected this from her sister, even if Misao had forgotten her.

"You tried to kill him." Misao ground out advancing towards Kaoru. Battousai motioned for the other men to stay where they were when Aoshi made a move to grab Misao.

"Let the sisters fight." Battousai said, stepping back. He watched Kaoru's face grow pale.

"I won't fight you Misao." Her voice was soft, but full of pain and confusion. Battousai grinned.

"Then you will die." Misao said as she charged at Kaoru. Kaoru could already see her sister's mistakes. She had been poorly trained. She was wild and unpredictable with her movements, yet missing almost completely each time.

Kaoru ducked a swipe, and thinking fast she flipped over Misao and cringing as she did so, slammed the hilt of her katana into the back of her head. Misao collapsed unconscious. Kaoru looked at Battousai, pain and anger showing in her eyes as she ran quickly from the house straight out the front door. She whistled frantically and was met with the sound of Ayana's hooves as the mare raced towards her. She leapt on, still running and the two disappeared down the road.

Aoshi, Sanosuke, and Yahiko ran towards Misao's fallen form. Kenshin walked out onto the front porch, his eyes following the sounds of the horses foot falls as they raced towards the tiny village two miles from there. He would find her. She had drawn blood, and now he was intent on finding and playing with his new toy. That's what she would be. A toy.

He walked back inside. Misao's head wound was minor, and Aoshi was already picking up her unconscious form.

"So that was the other sister?" Sanosuke asked, his eyes watching Battousai intently.

"Yes. I'll find her tomorrow." He stated and that was the end of the conversation. They had the carriage pulled to the front of the manor, and piled in. Misao would awake by morning with nothing more than a headache, and the other men had a feeling Battousai would be bringing home a new friend tomorrow evening.

-1-1-1-1-1-1-

Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. All 11 pages.lol. Anyways, hopefully I'll update again. I have the next 3 days of freedom yayness for me...-

Enjoying Freedom, DHM


	2. Bad Day

Sorry it took so long XD I'm finally on summer vacation. I'll try and update my stories, ALL of them… eventually. I won't be around for most of July or the first week of June, so we'll see how far I get. Anyways, I also have a new Battousai/Kaoru fic… God, I start ideas and can't finish them… I will this time though. Luff you all

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN… though I can only wish I did

**Warning:**Implications of rape and strong language. Don't read if you've got issues.

**Ages:**

Kaoru Kamiya: 18

Misao Kamiya: 15

Kenshin/Battousai: Appears 21

Yahiko: 13

Aoshi: Appears 19

Sanosuke: Appears 22

Megumi: Appears 23

More coming soon…

* * *

**Chapter 2: Bad Day**

The sun was just beginning to rise as Kaoru made her way into her home. Her tired blue eyes scanned the area quickly, not trusting anything. She looked and felt exhausted. Last night had been tiring, and the teenager was exhausted. She gripped her sword tightly as she stalked across the front room and towards her own. She glanced briefly around her own room, before walking to the chest where she had removed her clothing from earlier. Undressing, Kaoru returned the clothes to the trunk, closing it with a sound thud.

She stood from her kneeling position and walked from her room. She would sleep later, right now she needed to eat something. Kaoru had been feeling sick the entire way home. If she didn't get something in her stomach, she thought she might throw up whatever else might be in there. She began brewing herself a bit of tea, and started cooking a vegetable soup which would be both breakfast lunch and dinner for the next twenty-four hours.

Almost an hour later, Kaoru had finished making her food and eating. She had sat relaxed, her back leaning against the wall as she stared out one of the windows of her house. Her mind continually went over her battle with Battousai. She was not strong enough. As much as she did not want to admit it, it was true. Growling in frustration, Kaoru stood and walked into her kitchen, leaving her cup and eating utensils in a large bowl to be cleaned later. Kaoru needed sleep. She needed it very badly at this moment and with any luck no more nightmares would haunt her dreams.

* * *

Kaoru woke with a start. She hadn't been having a nightmare, but something had awoken her, scaring her. What was this feeling? Apprehension? Fear? Her blue eyes scanned the room quickly, holding the small knife she always kept with her hidden beneath her blanket. Nothing, the room was empty. However, she could not shake the feeling that had awoken her. She sighed heavily, relaxing slightly. Running a hand through her messing dark locks, she stood and went to dress into a practice gi. She had training to do. Without training she could never defeat Battousai. She grabbed a bokken which was leaning against the wall as she made her way outside. 

Kaoru enjoyed practicing with a wooden sword. If something happened, she wouldn't cut herself or cut anything off. She enjoyed practicing new moves with the bokken. It also helped her gain control and power. It was much harder to cut or break something with a bokken then a regular sword, so when she was able to break or cut something with it, her attacks with the sword would be much more powerful and fatal.

Arriving outside, Kaoru looked up at the sky. It was going to be another rainy day. She smiled slightly. _I love the rain. It's so peaceful and calm. The storm is full of anger, but the rain is calm, _she thought to herself as she walked to the back of her tiny house. She looked at the practice dummies she had set up. She placed her bokken on the ground and began doing warm up stretches, making sure her body was warmed up. She was slightly sore from last night's battle, but nothing that she couldn't deal with.

After almost and hour of warming up, she decided it was time to start working. She stood from her sitting position on the ground where she had been stretching her leg muscles. All of a sudden, she felt someone or something watching her. She spun around quickly, blue eyes watching the trees surrounding her house. Nothing. Warily, she turned back to the dummy infront of her and got into an attack position and began going through the attacks she already knew. Her eyes occasionally glanced around, the feeling of being watched never leaving.

Another hour went by as Kaoru ran through her known techniques and began working on some of the new ones she had been trying to perfect. That was when she heard it, a twig snap. She twisted around and fell into a defense position and looked at the trees infront of her. She heard a soft chuckle and then saw two men appear from the shadows of the forest.

_Who the hell are these morons? _Kaoru thought, annoyed. One was rather tall, the other shorter than her. Her aqua eyes narrowed and watched them quietly as she waited for them to speak or attack. Both of the men were dressed in clothes which had once been clean and new, now they were slightly dirty and the shorter one had a lot of holes in his. Both were wearing black. The smirks on their faces told Kaoru they were over confident and had already decided in their minds how this was going to be played out. She refrained from saying something to wipe the disgusting smirks off of their faces.

"Well hello there Miss Kamiya. Having a nice day?" The shorter one asked, a slight giggle in his voice, giving Kaoru the impression he was insane.

"I was until you morons showed up." She replied, the coldness in her voice snapping like a snake at the two men.

"Well, we'll just get on with our business and when we're done you can rest in peace. We'll even bring flowers to your grave if you'd like. Atleast someone will." Spoke the taller one who was still smiling pervertedly at Kaoru.

She rolled her eyes. These men obviously thought she was a pushover. Great, that's all she needed today, to deal with morons. "Mind if I ask who sent you?"

"Our employer is one of the men you have not yet been able to kill, Mr. Hiroku Iragawa." The shorter man spoke, dark beady eyes surveying Kaoru's body up and down.

"Ah, I had a feeling Iragawa would not wait for you to come to him." Spoke a fourth voice, one that had not yet been noticed until now. Kaoru's startled eyes shot in the direction of the new voice, her eyes widening. Battousai leaned gracefully against her house. _What is this? 'Let's all decide to show up and kill Kaoru day?' _Kaoru thought, her eyes narrowing.

"I thought you would have sent them. Oh, I forgot, you like to do your dirty work yourself." she spoke in Battousai's direction, her dark eyes flickering back and forth between tall and stumpy and Battousai.

"I just came along to see how my new pet was doing. I see now, you tend to piss off people you haven't even met yet. Iragawa must be very scared if he sent those two to kill you." Battousai spoke, his voice slightly humorous as he watched Kaoru's annoyance and anger flash across her eyes.

"Glad to know you were so concerned about my well being." She snapped angrily. She looked back at the two men before her. She only had her bokken. Her sword was locked away inside her house. _Smart Kaoru, really smart. Next time why don't you just put a sign on your head saying 'Come and get me, I'm completely defenseless without my sword' _She thought angrily. She gripped her bokken and watched the two men cautiously as they pulled out their own swords. _Great, stumpy and tall guy have swords, what else could happen to make this day worse? Wait, I don't want to answer that..._ she thought, her blue eyes focusing on the two men.

"We're sorry Miss Kamiya, but you have to die now. It was a pleasure meeting you." The tall man spoke as he rushed forwards. Stumpy seemed to wait a moment, and then ran around to her back side and attacked from that direction.

Kaoru grumbled irritably in her mind as she dodged out of the way of Tall guy's attack. She barely missed getting knicked by Stumpy's sword as he came at her from behind. She distanced herself from them and thought about the situation. Battousai, who was still lounging lazily against her wall obviously wasn't going to attack her until she got out of the fight she was in, _if _she got out of this fight. She would have to take out one of her two attackers first in order to have a fair fight. That should be fun considering her only weapon was her bokken.

Her opponents were faster than she expected, and they were on her once again in seconds. Kaoru barely blocked an attack from Tall guy as he swung down at her, the blade catching in the wood. A crack sounded, and Kaoru looked annoyed at her bokken. One more direct hit like that and it would break... she'd be defenseless. Lights flashed before her eyes as she felt a stabbing pain in her leg. Kaoru looked down to see Stumpy's sword embedded into her thigh.

Kaoru pushed Tall guy off of her and kicked Stumpy hard in the groin, making him fall to the ground. Well, he'd be down for a few minutes, hopefully long enough for Kaoru to take care of Tall guy. Kaoru heard a chuckle come from the direction of the Battousai, but didn't bother to look. She glared angrily at Tall guy and limped forward a few steps and held up her bokken in an attack position.

Despite the pain in Kaoru's leg, she ran at Tall guy. She appeared as if she were going to jump, and at the last second changed her attack and aimed her bokken at his torso. Un-prepared, Tall guy had the wind knocked out of him as the wood connected with his stomach. He staggered back a few steps, then rushed at Kaoru. He aimed a kick at her, at the same time pulling several throwing knives from his sleeves. Kaoru's eyes widened and she lifted the bokken to block the knives and tried to twist her body out of Tall guy's kicking range, but was not quick enough. Kaoru felt the air leave her lungs as she was thrown back by the kick. Two of thethrowing knives missed her completely, two embedded themselves in her bokken, and one nailed her in her upper right shoulder. She groaned in pain as she hit a tree.

_I'm having a really, really bad day_... Kaoru thought, as lights danced infront of her eyes. Her head felt dizzy, and shelifted her left hand to feel the back of her head. A large bump and blood greeted her_. Yup, a really bad day_. She looked down at herright shoulder where severe painkept herfrom moving her arm. A throwing knife wasembedded there. Grimacing, she gripped it with her lefthand and yanked it out. She bit her lip to keep from screaming inpain, buta painful whimper escaped her lips. Her vision was fuzzy,and she blinked desperately to clear it. She would not be outdone by Stumpy and Tall guy. She refused to allow herself to be beaten, while Battousai watched on, enjoying the show.

Her head ached painfully, and her shoulder and leg throbbed. Using her damaged bokken, she attempted to push herself to her feet. The pain in her head amplified immediately but she focused past it. She stood on wobbly legs, looking at her two, recovered opponents. She was in deep shit now. She could barely see, pain was dulling her senses, and even if she did manage to survive, Battousai was still waiting patiently.

Through fuzzy vision, Kaoru saw Stumpy making his way towards her. Weakly, she held up her bokken in defense as she stopped four feet from her, smiling pervertedly, his companion just behind him.

"If you play nice and let us have some fun, we'll make your death quick, and somewhat painless." Stumpy spoke, his eyes glinting cruelly as he watched the swaying girl infront of him. Kaoru felt disgusted by their perverted minds. What, did they honestly think she'd just let them use her body? Nope. No way. Wasn't going to happen. She'd rather throw herself onto Battousai's sword then give up and be raped.

"Go to hell." Kaoru spat out. Without warning, she swung her bokken, hitting Stumpy unexpectedly in the head, knocking him over and onto the ground. Tall guy had her neck in his hands instantly, holding her off of the ground. A choking sound escaped her lips as she fought feebly. Her mind was trying to drift off into unconsciousness. Fighting the need to drift into black oblivion, Kaoru struck out with her left hand, hitting Tall guy square in the jaw, but it didn't faze him. His grip tightened and Kaoru choked, unable to breath.

"I...wo...n't give... up." She ground out, trying to give air to her lungs. All of a sudden, she was tossed to the side like a rag doll. Her already blurry vision became worse as her head hit the ground again. She heard sounds of swords clashing, then the sound of metal slicing through flesh. Who was there? Saving her? Her head hurt almost too much to bare, making her dizzy. Fuzzy blue eyes looked up as a shadow stood over her. Thinking it was Tall guy or Stumpy, she lashed out with her good leg, trying to knock her attacker off of his feet. The shadow moved slightly, dodging her kick.

Kaoru was suddenly picked up, her mind began screaming at her to fight her captor. She fought against the strong arms holding her, until a steely voice said, "Stop resisting." Battousai. She stilled immediately. Clouded blue looked up to meet clear amber. She was in trouble now. Her eyes widened, and she made out his features clearly. He moved his gaze from hers and began staring straight ahead as he carried her bridal style away from her house and everything she had ever known. Her day had gone from bad to worse. She was his now.

* * *

Faded memories assaulted Kaoru's subconscious. The happy times she had spent playing with Misaoand learning to cook from her mother. The hours she spent practicing and watching her father's techniques. The happy memories were mixedwith the painful ones. She remembered the day hermother fled with them.The day her sister was taken. The day she saw her parents bodies burning in their hut. The years she spent secluded from those around her, practicing and working. 

Kaoru sprang up from where she had been laying. Her blue eyes looked frantically around the room, disoriented. What was this? Where was she? What was this place? Who's room was this? Her fear became evident as she looked around her. Someone had changed her bloody clothes and replaced them withsleeping clothes.Her shoulder, leg and back of her head werebandaged. She couldfeel stitches in her shoulder.

She pulled back the shoulder of the clean sleeping shirt, and looked at the bandaged wound. Blood was seeping through the white bandages. She had probably torn the stitches when she had awoken. Kaoru's mind replayed the last things she remembered. She had been home, practicing. Stumpy and Tall guy had shown up and they had fought. Then she was in the Battousai's arms. Then nothing. She must be at his house. Her eyes widened in fear which then changed to confusion. She was alive? Why? Soft footsteps sounded outside her door on the wooden flooring. People were walking down the hall. Kaoru looked about desperately for a weapon, but only had the mat, blanket and pillow she had been lying on.

"Give me that!" Came a male's voice and the sound of two pairs of running footsteps down the hall.

"Haha! Yahiko's too slow!" Came a taunting female's voice. Kaoru recognized Misao's voice immediately and jumped her feet. Her head swam and her leg throbbed painfully. She'd probably now pulled the stitches from there out as well. Limping, Kaoru made her way to the door. She slid it open and looked out into the hall. No one. The voices had faded down the hall, and Kaoru was determined to find her sister and find out exactly what the hell was going on.

Pain raced up her injured leg as she limped towards the end of the hall. Dark eyes glared angrily around her. Kaoru was pissed, no scratch that,beyond pissed. She didn't know what was going on, only that her sister was here. Voices at the end of the hall made Kaoru look towards a door. She heard her sister's raised voice and several others laughing. Kaoru marched angrily, but quietly to the door. She was injured and defenseless. Didn't that ring a familiar bell?

No one had become aware of her prescience just yet, Kaoru had become very good at hiding her ki. Taking a deep, steadying breath Kaoru put her hand on the door. She did not know what to expect, but Kaoru braced herself. Sliding the door open, she looked into the room. Everyone had stopped as soon as they heard the door sliding open. Kaoru's blue gaze was met with an array of different colored stares. She glared harshly, trying to appear tough, even if she was rather scared. She still didn't know where she was or what was going on.

Kaoru's eyes flickered over the six people sitting in the room, apparently having dinner...? They all were eating food substances, however Kaoru's eyes looked apprehensively at the reddish liquid in several cups, including Battousai's. Blue met amber in a staring contest as she glared angrily at him. She was not happy. Why should she be? She had just been kidnapped. Well, technically Battousai had saved her life, but she wouldn't admit that, not in a million years.

Battousai's fangs poked out of his mouth as he smirked sadistically at her. She definitely had a temper and the slightest things could set the blue eyed girl infront of him off. He'd have fun playing and breaking her. Oh so much fun.Amber eyes drifted from the angry blue to those of his companions. Misao was staring darkly at her older sister. The girl's aura positively screamed anger and death. Misao obviously did not like her older sister. Sanosuke was looking amused as he watched Kaoru glare angrily about the room. Yahiko was stuffing his mouth full of food, ignoring the whole scene. Megumi looked rather concerned, probably because her patient was out of bed. Aoshi, like usual, sat there stoically watching the scene.

"Look who's finally decided to join the world of the living?" Sanosuke was the first to speak. He laughed after his comment. _World of the living... I crack myself up... _He thought to himself, chuckling.

"You shouldn't be up yet. You're still injured. You may have pulled your stitches out!" Megumi said as she made to stand. The group noticed for the first time, the dark blood stains on Kaoru's clothing where her wounds were. Battousai mentally slapped himself for not smelling her blood, but then again, the entire room smelled of it. The vampire residents in the room were drinking blood.

Battousai watched amused as the mistrustful Kaoru stepped back when Megumi went towards her.

"Don't touch me." Her hard set blue eyes made him smile in amusement. Kaoru's voice had been stern, but he could hear the slight gasp of pain that escaped her lips at the end of her demand.

"Now, now pet. Megumi is the one who saved your pitiful life. The least you can do is trust her. If any of us had wanted to kill you, we would have done it while you were unconscience. I tend on enjoying my new toy before destroying it." Battousai spoke, his voice mocking in the beginning, then deadly serious at the end. Kaoru's brave facade vanished for a moment, and the smell of fear drifted through the room before she hid it again. She was _no one's _play thing.

"Fuck you." Kaoru grumbled and eyed Megumi warily as the woman finally was able to approach her. Kaoru leaned heavily against the wall. The pain in her legged throbbed and her shoulder ached.

"Gladly." Battousai's voice was soft, but seemed to carry to Kaoru. Her eyes snapped in his direction. He sat there calmly and returned to eating his dinner, the others following his lead as if he hadn't said anything. Megumi began trying to escort Kaoru from the room. Blue eyes looked back once, hoping to meet Misao's eyes, but the girl had turned back to her soup, jabbing at a piece of meet with her chop stick. Kaoru's eyes saddened and allowed Megumi to help her back to the room.

* * *

"You really shouldn't push him." Megumi's voice was soft and concentrated as she stuck the needle through Kaoru's skin, retying the girl's stitches. 

"I don't really give a fuck. If he's going to kill me, he's going to kill me. I'd atleast like to go down knowing I pissed a few people off along the way." Kaoru spoke angrily, her eyes glaring at the wall opposite her. She clenched her teeth to keep from hissing in pain at the needle's sharp jabs.

"He saved your life. You could be atleast a little grateful you know."

"Grateful!" Kaoru's voice rose. She couldn't believe this woman. Did she have any idea what Battousai had done to Kaoru? "Battousai slaughtered my parents and kidnapped my sister! You think I should be _grateful _to him?" Her voice rose angrily until she was almost shouting.

"He has his reasons for everything that he does." Megumi replied calmly, still focusing on her stitching.

"His latest reason for bringing me here is to have a new whore if I'm not mistaken." Kaoru spoke angrily, her blue eyes flashing to meet Megumi's green.

"He has his reasons." She said again, still focused on her task at hand.

Kaoru rolled her eyes and grumbled. She still didn't know why she was here... alive. She sighed in relief when Megumi finished. The entire time she had been holding her breath, hissing several times in pain. Blue eyes locked onto Megumi's form as she stood and went to the door.

"I'll bring you some dinner in about an hour. I'd suggest staying here unless you want to run into _him_." Megumi spoke as she slid the door open and left.

Blue eyes scanned the room rebelliously as she stood carefully and walked to the door. She didn't want a confrontation with Battousai, but she did want answers. She wanted to sit and talk with Misao. Steadying herself she slid the door open and walked out into the hall. It was quiet and no one was in sight. Walking quietly Kaoru passed by several doors as she made her way down the hall. It was quiet, too quiet. There were a few candles, lighting the way along the wooden hallway and she followed them. The house was huge, several times bigger than her own. She had walked for a good ten minutes before deciding no one else was in the house. It was empty. Grumpily Kaoru walked to one of the doors leading outside.

Upon opening the door Kaoru saw that the house was far from any town. The moon and stars twinkled above the surrounding forest. _Like my day can't get any worse? _Her eyes fixed on lights flickering in a dojo several hundred feet from where she stood. Making up her mind she walked out onto the porch and made her way down the steps towards the dojo. She could hear the sound of metal clashing.

"A fight?" She whispered out loud as she walked up the steps to the dojo and put her ear to the wall. A few people inside were talking and it sounded as if two people were sparring with swords. "Might as well properly introduce myself and get some answers. If Megumi is in there she's going to kill me. Oh well, I never liked doing what I was told." Kaoru spoke to herself as she slid the door open and peered inside.

Her eyes immediately flickered to the two people sparring. Battousai was fighting with the stone cold man Aoshi. She could barely follow their movements. Their speed was incredible. She was no match for either of them. Battousai was much stronger than she had originally thought. She watched them for several minutes as they eached lunged and swung at the other until finally Battousai disarmed Aoshi. Aoshi nodded his head in acceptance of defeat and went to go sit against the wall.

Amber eyes trailed to the dark haired girl standing in the open door. She had been seen. _Oh crap... He does not look happy... _Kaoru thought, a bit paniced at the look on his face. He growled lowly at her making her breath hitch slightly. Taking his piercing gaze off of her, he walked to one side of the dojo where all sorts of weapons were displayed. He put the katana he had been using onto the wall and turned around without looking at her. He went to go join Aoshi against the wall as Misao got up and began warming up. So far only Battousai had seen her.

Quietly, Kaoru made her way into the room, closing the door quietly. Not wanting to go near Battousai or the others she had not actually met, she stayed near the door and eased herself down to the floor in a sitting position. Her body did not hurt as much since Megumi had given her pain medicine. Kaoru watched as the tall man, Sanosuke browsed the weapons wall, deciding on a staff. Misao chose the same.

Kaoru watched in surprise as her younger sister and the six plus foot tall man began exchanging blows, neither really trying, just getting a feel for the other. After only minutes Kaoru could tell that her sister was outmatched and that Sanosuke was holding back. The match lasted almost half an hour until finally Sanosuke disarmed Misao. The girl pouted angrily at the taller man.

"That wasn't fair rooster head!" She said angrily, trying to punch him.

"I was holding back. Get over it shrimp." He muttered rubbing his head with one of his hands. His gaze drifted fromt he ground to where Kaoru was and his lips formed an 'o'. "Well look who decided to join us. How you feeling missy?" He asked a goofy grin on his face. Misao turned to see who he was talking to and a scowl crossed her features.

Kaoru watched her sister's face. Why did Misao dis-like her? They hadn't been in a room together for more than fifteen minutes since the girl was little. Sadness crossed Kaoru's eyes but she quickly replaced it with an uncaring gaze. "I've felt better." She spoke giving Battousai a glare.

"I told you to stay in your room." Megumi muttered irritably as she stood from her sitting position and began to walk across the room towards Kaoru. Battousai was quicker however and was standing next to Kaoru pulling her roughly to her feet.

"_I _shall escort her back to her room." Battousai spoke dangerously as he glanced over the room's other occupants before turning straight ahead as he practically dragged Kaoru from the dojo.

"Ow! Let go of me. That hurts..." Kaoru grumbled, trying futiley to pull her arm from his strong grip. Lucky for her he had gripped her un-injured arm.

"You think you can tell me what to do?" Heasked seriously as they walked across the courtyard between house and dojo. His amber eyes moved to focus on her soft blue ones as she tried to come up with a response.

"Why shouldn't I? If you're going to kill me anyways, why not piss you off along the way?" She spoke angrily. She did not like being helpless and that's exactly what she was at this moment. Amber glared dangerously at her and she felt her legs go weak. How could a single man, no wait _thing_, do this to her?

"Because I own you." He whispered into her ear as they entered the house and began walking down the hallway towards her new room. His grip did not loosen, but instead tightened as he stopped outside her doorway, pushing her against the wall. "You will not disobey me." He said to her in almost a whisper. She shuddered slightly as her eyes looked for anything else to gaze at but him. Then he was gone. She hadn't even seen him go. His grip had disappeared and that was it. Suddenly words echoed into her mind causing her to panic. _You are mine._

* * *

Well, what did you all think? Sorry it took so long. I did half of it this morning and half tonight... Anyways, hope you all enjoyed. Love ya...

Begging for forgiveness,  
-DHM-


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